Besides offering everyone’s favorite oat-based products, Oatly Germany is so much more: it’s a company with a mission to make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process. And health starts at home, which is why Oatly Germany uses nilo.health as a mental health benefit for their employees. We caught up with the amazing People and Culture Team to find out more about company culture, mental health in the workplace and why Oatly Germany loves nilo.health.
Introduce yourselves to us! Who is Oatly Germany?
Oatly is a value-driven company. Because nutritional health, sustainability, and trust are so close to our hearts, we are more than just another food company – we are a lifestyle company trying to become part of people’s lives.
Mental health and the workplace: why do these two concepts go together in the modern work environment?
Considering our mental health at work is important, as it has a significant impact on our day-to-day lives. Our mental health is an integral part of who we are, and we should strive to create a positive and healthy mindset. Taking care of our mental health is just as important as taking care of our physical health.
We don’t change into our “work selves” but can come as we are, even when we are not feeling our most confident or chatty that day.
How do you incorporate mental health care into your company culture at Oatly?
One of our guiding principles is “feel at home” which means we should be able to be our authentic selves at work. We don’t change into our “work selves” but can come as we are, even when we are not feeling our most confident or chatty that day.
Why did Oatly decide to invest in the mental health of their employees?
For us, the corona crisis and the resulting impact on everyday working life has once again highlighted how important and at the same time fragile mental health can be, even in a work context. With nilo.health we can offer the best support for our team and equip them to build new routines and habits to improve their emotional well-being if wanted.
What is one of Oatly’s biggest challenges at the moment?
We are a growing company with a hybrid work model which means that people continue to work remotely, and we have to keep the company culture alive even if we don’t physically see each other every day.
How can a mental health benefit help with this challenge?
Working remotely has impacted our work and personal lives tremendously and borders have shifted. We want our team to feel well-equipped to cope with this challenge in the best possible way, therefore we teamed up with the professionals from nilo.health. Now we are feeling supported and confident to share with our team how we feel. This has led to more connection and great team efforts.
Why did Oatly Germany choose nilo.health as the mental health benefit for your company?
Nilo was recommended to us by Shitshow, a Berlin-based mental health consultancy, and after more research, it seemed to fit perfectly with our purpose and values.
Now we are feeling supported and confident to share with our team how we feel.
What’s changed since you introduced nilo.health? Did you receive any feedback from your employees so far?
A lot more people than expected signed up for nilo.health and expressed continuously how grateful they are for having this benefit.
